Privacy Policy

Thatcham Research ("Thatcham")

Privacy Policy

Introduction

This privacy policy sets out how Thatcham Research uses and protects any information that you give to us when you use our websites or our portals (“Sites”).

Thatcham Research is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using our Sites, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement. For the purpose of the Data Protection Act 1998 (the Act), the data controller is Thatcham Research of Colthrop Way, Thatcham, Berkshire, RG19 4NR.

Thatcham may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes.

If you have any questions or need further information about our privacy practices, please contact us at privacy@thatcham.org.

How we will get in touch with you

When we first collect your personal information, we will tell you that we want to keep in contact with you to keep you informed about things that we believe you will be interested in.

You have the right to request that we cease sending marketing communications, whether by e-mail or otherwise, to you. You can do this by checking certain boxes when we collect your personal information or by clicking the unsubscribe link in the marketing e-mails you receive from us. You can also do this by contacting us at privacy@thatcham.org.

What we collect

The personal data which we may collect from you via our Sites may include:

information collected when you complete a training course application form;

information collected when you send an email to our Sites including name, job title and email address. If you contact us, we may keep a record of that correspondence.

information that you provide by filling in forms on our Sites. This includes information provided at the time of registering to use our Sites, subscribing to our service, posting material or requesting further services. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Sites.

The information we collect will vary depending on the service you request but could include name, address, phone number, email address, vehicle registration number, user name, password, age, gender and date of birth. We may also ask for additional information depending on the nature of the service provided, e.g. information about your education and training, financial details . We will not normally collect any sensitive personal information from you, and in any event, will request your express consent to do so.

Thatcham uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc to collect aggregated information which tells us about visitors to our Sites but not the identity of the visitors. e.g. we may collect information about the date, time and duration of visits and which pages of our Sites are most commonly accessed. However, it will not be possible to identify you from this information. This information is used to help us to administer and improve our Sites. For more information on the cookie set by Google Analytics, including information on how to opt out please view Google's privacy policy.

IP addresses

We may collect information about your computer, including where available your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information. This is statistical data about our users' browsing actions and patterns, and may identify an individual.

How we collect data

We may collect data from you in various ways:

during your use of our Sites;

when we request further information from you from time to time following on from any contact you have made with us through our Sites;

by our use of cookies (please see below).

Use of cookies

A cookie is a small element of data that a website can send to your computers browser so that this computer will be recognised by the website on your return. Cookies allow our web server to recognise your computer on connection to our websites which enables our pages to be downloaded faster than on first viewing.

Cookies may be additionally used to establish various statistics connected with the website including: most visited pages, time spent on each page, site performance etc. by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.

A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our websites in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the date is removed from the system.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify this option in the settings menu. Declining cookies may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

In order to collect anonymous data we may use session cookies that remain in the cookies file of your browser until the browser is closed. Information generated by the use of cookies may be compiled into an aggregate form so that no individual can be identified.

For more information regarding cookies and their purposes please see the information commissioner's website home page.

What we will use the data for

We will use the data that we collect from you for the following purposes:

to improve the website and deal with any queries you have about our Sites and to notify you as to any changes to our Sites;

to provide you with information that you have requested (including brochures, information on products and subscription services);

to provide you with information on training courses;

to provide marketing services;

to send you marketing materials. If you do not wish to receive marketing materials from Thatcham then there is an option to "opt out" from receiving these materials. You may withdraw your consent to receive marketing materials at any time by sending an email to privacy@thatcham.org.

to allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so;

to notify you about changes to our service.

In most cases, we have entered into a contract with you for the provision of goods and/or services and need your personal data to ensure we can fulfil our obligations under this contract. Where our relationship with you is not contractual, we will seek your consent before using your personal data. In the unlikely event that we use your personal data without your permission, we will ensure that our business reasons for doing so respect your privacy at all times.

You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:

Whenever you are asked to fill in a form, look for the box that you can click to indicate that you do not want the information to be used by anybody for direct marketing purposes

If you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at privacy@thatcham.org.

Who we may pass your data on to

We will not share, sell, license or distribute your personal data with an unrelated third party, expect as otherwise provided for in this privacy policy and under the following circumstances:

where we are required to do so by law;

in connection with any legal proceedings or prospective legal proceedings;

in order to establish or defend our legal rights;

in order to provide you with the information or services that you have requested personal data may occasionally be transferred or shared with other nominated companies or third parties (in the motor or insurance industry) who act for or with us for further processing in accordance with the purposes for which the data was originally collected.

we may share, transfer or disclose your personal data to a potential or actual successor to us.

Links to other websites

Our Sites may contain hyperlinks to other websites which may be of interest to you. These websites are not operated by us and the links are provided for your reference and convenience only and do not imply any endorsement of the activities of such third-party websites. We are therefore not responsible for the protection and privacy or any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement.

Access to your personal data/control

You are entitled to access your personal data and have it amended or deleted from our system as required under the Act. For more information and to make a subject access request please contact us at privacy@thatcham.org.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete or if you wish to complain, please write to or email privacy@thatcham.org as soon as possible.

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. We will take reasonable technical and organisational precautions to prevent loss, misuse or alteration of your personal information.

In order to prevent unauthorised access to such information we have in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Your personal information will be retained for up to 6 years following the termination of your relationship with us.

Data Transfers

We may transfer the personal information we collect about you to countries other than the country in which the information was originally collected. Those countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country in which you initially provided the information. When we transfer your personal information to other countries, we will protect the information as described in the Security section of this Privacy Policy.

Changes to the policy

If Thatcham changes this privacy policy the amended privacy policy will be posted on our Sites and the revised policy will take effect once posted. Your continued use of our Sites after the posting will signify your agreement to the new terms.

If this policy differs substantially from the one originally in place then this will be addressed on the homepage of the website.